Rahul Gandhi wins in Wayanad and Rae Bareli; who will the Gandhi family scion choose?
Rahul Gandhi has won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat for the second time. He defeated his nearest rival Annie Raja of the CPI by over 3.64 lakh votes. The seat includes three assembly seats in Wayanad, three seats in Muslim-dominated Malappuram and one seat in Kozhikode, which has a significant number of Christian voters. Gandhi has also won in Rae Bareli, leaving uncertainty over which seat he will represent in the Lok Sabha.
“I have won both the seats and I want to thank the voters of Rae Bareli and Wayanad. I am yet to decide which seat I will keep,” Gandhi said after the Lok Sabha Election Results 2024 were announced on Tuesday, PTI reported.
According to reports, the Congress-led UDF was confident of Gandhi’s victory in Wayanad, which is her stronghold. Despite challenges from the BJP and Left candidates, Gandhi’s support remained strong. BJP and Left critics believed that Gandhi would leave Wayanad if she continued to contest from Rae Bareli.
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad
Wayanad, known for its lush green mountains, unique cultural heritage and large tribal population, gained national prominence with Gandhi’s candidature in 2019. Established in 2008, the constituency comprises Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady in Wayanad district, Thiruvambady in Kozhikode and Nilambur, Wandoor and Eranad in Malappuram.
Agriculture is the backbone of Wayanad’s economy, and it faces constraints such as changing market prices and crop failure. Other important topics include tribal welfare, environmental protection, and infrastructure development.
Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: BJP, Left parties question Gandhi’s absence from Wayanad
During the campaign, the UDF highlighted Gandhi’s efforts in Wayanad and his global outlook over local concerns, while the BJP and Left parties questioned his absence from the constituency and failure to address key issues such as human-animal conflict, the news agency reported.
In the 2019 elections, Gandhi defeated CPI candidate PP Suneer in Wayanad by 4,31,770 votes. The polling percentage this year was 73.57 per cent, while in 2019, it was 80.31 per cent, PTI reported.
BJP leader K Surendran addressed the topic of renaming the town of Sulthan Bathery, earlier known as Ganapathivattom, to represent the historical spirit. Gandhi’s roadshow in Kalpetta on April 3 drew national attention, with posters of his portrait and election symbol replacing the prominent green flags of ally IUML seen in 2019, possibly to prevent unwanted reactions from BJP critics, the news agency said.
Senior CPI leader Annie Raja was the Left candidate in Wayanad, while BJP state president K Surendran was also contesting, making it a high-stakes campaign. The CPI(M) attacked the Congress for not carrying the IUML’s green flags during Gandhi’s roadshow and claimed the move was taken to avoid a backlash in north India, the report said.